Settled solids removing apparatus



March 'Mk E936. E 5 WlARD E@ SETTLED soLIDs REMOVING APPARATUS Filed DEO. 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of separating solids from liquids. and has as an object the provision of. means operable in combination with settling or thickening tanks for the removal of the solids concentrated in said tanks.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus readily adaptable to settling or thickening tanks of various types, sizes and shapes for the eflicient removal of the solids concentrated in said tanks.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved solids-removing apparatus operable in combination with settling and thickening tanks with a minimum of disturbance and agitation of the solids concentrated in said tanks.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved solids-removingl apparatus operable in combination with settling and thickening tanks and susceptible of adjustment of its operating elements through a wide speed range to adapt said apparatus to the requirements of a specific installation.

\ A further object of the invention is to provide an improvedsolids-removing unit readily adaptable toexisting settling and thickening tank installations.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved solids-removing unit that is simple of manufacture and installation, efficient and substantially automatic in operation, durable in use and' free of onerous maintenance requirements.

My invention consists in they construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a conventionalized settling or thickening tank wherewith is operatively combined a typical embodiment of the invention, a portion of the tank being broke-n away to better illustrate the assembly. Figure 2 is a plan view of the showing of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a plan View, on an enlarged scale, of a typical solids collector employed in the invention. Figure 4 is a vertical section, on the same scale as Figure 3, axially of the collector assembly and one form of its mounting.

In the construction of the improvement as shown, the numeral I0 designates a conventional settling or thickening tank such as is commonly employed in various arts for the gravity concentration of finely divided solids in a liquid vehicle, the portion of the tank I0 illustrated being but typical of any suitable shape and construction and including circular as well as the generally Where very finely divided solids are to be settled 10.

a tank or series of tanks must be provided having a very large capacity in proportion to the rate of feed.

Since the invention comprises a unit arranged for travel relative to the tank I0, suitable means 15 are provided for supporting the unit for travel in a plane parallel with the floor of said tank, such means being illustrated in this instance as a rigid, two-rail track II positioned immediately above and parallel with one side of said tank and suit- 20 ably fixed with the upper margins of the rails in a common plane parallel with that of the tank floor. Mounted above and to travel along the rails I I, a wheeled platform I2, of any suitable construction and arrangement, is provided to act as the base of the solids-removing unit. Any suitable means may be provided for driving the platform I2 relative to its support, the arrangement illustrated comprising a variable speed electric motor I3 fixed to the platform I2 and suitably connected to derive its operative energy from an overhead power line I4 through a pole and contact assembly I5 carried by said platform, the motor I3 being provided with a worm or similar gear I6 on its driven shaft in operative engagement with a gear II fixed to one of the axles of the platform I2, sothat, when the motor I3 is operated the platform is caused to travel along the track II, the variable speed character of the motor I3 and the gear relation between said motor and the platform 40 axle permitting infinite adjustment of the rate of travel imparted to' the platform I2.

Mounted for rotation about its axis in suitable bearings carried by the platform I2, a shaft I8 depends vertically from said platform within the 45 tank I0 and carries on its lower end a solids collector thus positioned in close proximity with the tank oor. The solids collector, designated generally by the numeral I9, may take any one of several forms having substantially identical 50 functions, but preferably is of the type illustrated in detail in Figures 3 and 4 wherein a base plate 20 is fixed to and in perpendicular relation with the shaft I8 and supports a vertical rib 2| rising therefrom and arranged thereon to present a convolute spiral closing at its inner end against the shaft IB, which arrangement provides a convolute passage on the upper surface of the plate 20 leading from the outer margin thereof inwardly to the shaft I8, so that, when the collector I9 is rotated in the proper direction, solids engaged thereby will be led by said convolute passage from outer margins of the collector inwardly of the latter to the shaft I8. To rotate the shaft I8 and collector I9 an independent power unit is preferably employed, such a unit being illustrated as a variable speed electric motor 22 carried by the platform I2 and provided with a worm or similar gear 23 on its driven shaft operatively engaging a gear 24 fixed to the upper end of the shaft I8, the variable speed character of the motor 22 and its gear relation with the shaft I8 permitting adjustment of the rotative speed of the collector I9 independently of the rate of travel of the platform I2. The motor 22 preferably is operatively connected with the pole and contact assembly I5 so as to derive its operative energy from the power line I4.

The solids gathered by the collector I9 are preferably elevated for discharge from the tank I0 by suction means carried by the platform I2, one such means being illustrated as comprising a suitable suction pump 25 carried by the platform I2 in driven relation with a variable speed electric motor 26 which latter derives its operative energy from the power line I4 through the pole and contact assembly I5, the outlet 21 of the pump 25 discharging into a launder 28 whereby the collected solids may be gravity fed to the desired location. Various means may be employed for operatively connecting the inlet of the pump 25 with the area of maximum solids concentration adjacent the junction of the shaft I8 and collector I9, one such means being illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 by means of dotted lines and comprising a simple conduit communicating at one end with the pump inlet and having its other end open and positioned, by means of fittings engaging the shaft I8, adjacent the junction of the shaft I8 and collector I9. It is more efficient and conducive of less disturbance of the settled solids within the tank I0 to withdraw the solids gathered by the collector I9 through the shaft I8, which may, of course, be accomplished in various ways, one construction effective to this end being shown in detail in Figure 4. In this latter figure, the shaft I 8 is shown as formed with an internal bore communicating at its lower end through a port 29 with the innermost convolution of the collector I9. Tha-t portion of the shaft I8 immediately below the platform I2 is slotted or otherwise apertured and rotates within an annular chamber or housing 30 fixed to said platform and with which a conduit 3I leading from the inlet of the pump 25 communicates, so that suction effect deriving from said pump acts through the conduit 3|, chamber 30, shaft I8 and port 29 to lift the solids gathered by the collector I9 for discharge through said pump into the launder 28.

In the practical use of the apparatus illustrated and described, the particular operative installation and arrangement will necessarily depend upon the requirements of the art and equipment concerned. In some installations, the platform I2 Will be arranged, by means of automatic reversing switches, to repetitiously traverse the same section of track II from one side of a tank to the other side, a plurality of track installations, each equipped with a solids-removing unit, being employed to cover the area of the tank floor. With circular tanks, a concentric series of tracks may be employed with a plurality of the solids-removing units, or a spiral track may be equipped with a single unit arranged for reverse travel or other return tothe initial point. Likewise, a single unit may be arranged to travel entirely about a rectangular tank, if desired, or, instead of reversing for back travel on a single straight track, means may be provided whereby the unit is raised out of the tank and returned to its initial point for repetitions action.

Where the solids-removing units are employed in multiple in a single tank to travel along paths parallel with the feed of said tank, said units may act as classifiers, since the heavier and coarser particles of the solid matter will settle nearest the feed side of the tank and the finer particles nearest the discharge side thereof, so that the unit nearest the feed side will deliver coarser solids and the other units will deliver progressively finer solids as their paths are progressively nearer the discharge side of said tank.

It is to be noted that because of the relatively slow travel of the platform I2 and the relatively slow rotation of the collector I9, very little disturbance of the settled solids is had, and that, by virtue of the adjustments provided, the speeds of travel and rotation, as well as the pump speed, may be proportioned to give maximum solids recovery with a minimum of disturbance and agitation.

It will be readily apparent that the instant invention, when compared with sweeps, rakes and similar mechanical appliances now commonly employed for the same purpose, presents obvious advantages in respect of efficiency, installation and maintenance costs and adaptability, besides permitting the use of tanks of a size to which the previous appliances could not be successfully adapted.

Since many changes in the specific form, construction and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and may in fact be required in adapting the principle of the invention to specific installations and uses, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by and details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a settling tank of a solids-removing unit arranged for travel relative to said tank, said unit including a suction element, a rotatable gathering element operatively associated with said suction element, and means in said gathering element operable through simultaneous rotation and translation of the latter to concentrate solids from the fioor of said tank about and adjacent the intake of said suction element.

2. The combination with a settling tank of a solids-removing unit arranged for travel relative to said tank, said unit including a suction element disposed with its intake adjacent the floor of said tank, rotatable gathering means operatively associated with said suction element, and a spiral channel in said gathering means operable through simultaneous rotation and translation of the latter to concentrate solids from the floor of said tank about and adjacent the intake of said suction element.

3. The combination with a settling tank of a solids-removing unit arranged for travel relative to said tank, said unit including a suction element disposed with its intake adjacent the floor of said tank, rotatable gathering means operatively associated with said suction element for translation therewith, said gathering means including a plate closely adjacent and coplanar With the floor of said tank, and a spiral channel on said plate operable through simultaneous rotation and translation to concentrate solids from the floor of said tank on said plate about and adjacent the intake of said suction element.

4. The combination with a settling tank of a solids-removing unit arranged for travel relative to said tank, said unit including a suction element carriage-disposed for translation with its intake adjacent the floor of said tank, power means operable to translate said carriage relative to said tank, rotatable gathering means operatively associated With said suction element for translation therewith in constant advancing engagement against solids settled in said tank, independent power means operable to rotate said gathering means, and elements in said gathering means operable through simultaneous rotation and translation of the latter to concentrate settled solids about and adjacent the intake of said suction element.

5. The combination With a settling tank of a solids-removing unit arranged for travel relative to said tank, said unit including a suction element disposed with its intake adjacent the floor of said tank, gathering means carried by said suction element for translation therewith in constant advancing engagement with solids settled in said tank, means for rotating said gathering means, and a spiral channel included in said gathering means and operable through rotation thereof to concentrate settled solids about and adjacent the intake of said suction element.

EDWARD S. WIARD. 

